Skills shortage affects half of UK employers

Over half
of organisations in the UK have experienced difficulties in filling at least
one vacancy in the past year, according to a CIPD survey.

The main
reasons given by recruiters is that they cannot find enough people with the
right experience and that candidates do not have the skills needed.

Imogen
Daniels, resourcing and development advisor for the CIPD, believes that
employers are being too narrow minded in their recruitment process.

She said,
“Employees can get experience in different ways. If employers look for the
generic skills a job needs, rather than an exact match for the person who is
leaving, they can be more open to new and different potential applicants.

“Given the
tight labour market and the growth of the knowledge-based economy, it is
recognising and retaining creative individuals that really makes or breaks
organisations.”

She is
pleased that one-fifth of organisations are taking a more open minded approach
and that employers are promoting diversity of equal opportunities in their
recruitment processes.

The survey’s
full details will be published at the CIPD’s Recruitment Conference in London
next week.